What to know
- Plus Company’s Black Employee Resource Group (BERG) is hosting an immersive event on July 28 that explores the history, culture, and significance of Caribbean Carnival ahead of Toronto’s Grand Parade.
- The experience will teach attendees about Carnival’s roots in Caribbean emancipation, resistance, and the reclaiming of freedom through interactive exhibits, live steelpan music, a Moko Jumbie stilt walker, masquerade costumes, dancing, and Caribbean food.
- In partnership with Izavibe Mas Band, employees will also learn traditional Carnival practices, including chipping, wining, and crossing the stage during a mock parade.
- The event comes as Toronto prepares for its annual Caribbean Carnival, which attracts about two million attendees each year and is supported by a recent provincial investment of $20 million for festivals across Ontario.
While Toronto is gearing up for one of its biggest parade weekends of the year, one group is looking beyond the festivities and feathers by bringing an immersive and educational experience to their office.
Just days before the Grand Parade on Aug. 1, global marketing and communications network Plus Company is holding an immersive, highly visual, and cultural experience for their Black Employee Resource Group (BERG).
In the spirit of learning about the historical context behind the major, worldwide celebration, the employee group plans to teach attendees about the emancipation and resistance Caribbean people faced around Lent. Further, they’ll discuss the Carnival’s origins as a way to take back freedom in the Caribbean.
Taking a traditional lunch and learn to the next level, this workday event immerses attendees with live steelpan music, a traditional Moko Jumbie stilt walker, handmade masquerade costumes along with classic feathers and gems, and finally, an interactive dance performance that allows people to try the Carnival’s traditions themselves.
Caribbean street food, like doubles and fried split pea and flour dough balls called pholourie, will also be available for employees to try.
Carnival backpacks will also be provided, with attendees encouraged to wear them, as they learn how to chip, AKA a specific shuffle step done by Caribbeans and Trinidadians, as well as wine and jump during a mock parade, ahead of the real deal.
According to the official Toronto Caribbean Carnival website, the massive parade may have come following plantocracy enslavement of the African population, as the enslaved African population’s way of imitating white French masquerade balls, through their own celebrations, including African music and drumming, stemming from the 1800s.
BERG said the educational event ahead of Toronto’s Carnival is in partnership with popular band Izavibe, who will be performing for attendees.
The event, “Carnival Beyond the Costume: Exploring the History, Culture, and Spirit of Carnival,” will include steel drumming, dancing, and educational sessions, connecting Trinidad and African history and experience to modern-day Toronto’s celebrations.
The company event is planned for July 28, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., as they take a break from their workday to partake in celebrations.
Toronto’s Carnival
While the BERG’s event isn’t open to the general public, Toronto’s Caribbean Carnival has a lot to discover.
Now, thousands, and even millions, come out year-after-year to Toronto to celebrate the historic weekend, according to the Ontario government, who claim the festival sees around two million attendees annually.
Additionally, the provincial government recently announced $20 million to support nearly 400 festivals across Ontario; an investment that should boost Toronto Caribbean Carnival festivities.
While the Grand Parade takes place in the city on Aug. 1, the month of July is filled with Caribbean Carnival events all month long.
Its launch at Scarborough Town Centre took off on June 13, and continues with activities of all ages, including the Junior Carnival happening on July 18 near Neilson Park and Malvern in Scarborough and the King & Queen Showcase at Lamport Stadium on July 30.
